Listener fatigue: what does it really mean?


Okay, so I used to think that listener fatigue meant that your ears just kind of got tired from listening to speakers that were overly bright. I don't have a good understanding of the make up of an ear, but I believe there are muscles in an ear that, I guess, expand and contract while we listen to music and I figured that's what it meant to have listener fatigue. Now, I'm thinking that listener fatigue is maybe more than your ears just getting tired but actually, your whole body getting tired and feeling drained. I experienced this time and time again listening to my paradigm studio's. They are somewhat bright and provide quite a bit of detail in my oppinion, so I'm wondering if, since there was such a great amount of detail coming through, that it was physically draining because I'm sitting there analyzing everything that's coming through the speakers. I would wake up and first thing in the morning, grab a cup of coffee and start listening to music (my daily routine) and 20-30 minutes later start nodding off and I couldn't figure out what was going on. I've been sitting here this morning listening to my new vandersteen's for two hours and can't get enough. I feel like I could listen all day and that I'm almost energized from listening vs. drained.

Soooo, what are your oppinions about what listener fatigue is and why it's caused?
b_limo

Showing 3 responses by mezmo

Ooh, this is fun – let’s continue adding to the list of possible sources of distortion.

10. Ceiling vibrations. (We’ve got walls, floors and windows dialed in, but let’s not forget the ceiling. And furniture. And glassware. And clothing. And hair – gosh how could we forget hair. Wee little hairs is how we hear anyway, and just imagine using the wrong shampoo. Totally f-ed.)

11. Ectoplasm. Gostbusters, anyone? ‘Nuff said.

12. Matter. Dark matter is particularly insidious (it can really sneak up on you, you rarely see it coming), but all of it can be problematic / fatiguing. More so with the stuff we know exists.

13. Electrons. Yes, they may be everywhere, but they can really tire you out. And if you run them through conductive materials just so across energy differentials, they can also be quite useful when mixed appropriately with electronic devices.

14. Tachyons. Invisible, immeasurable, theoretical, sound exhausting.

15. Weather. High pressure, low pressure, changing pressure, static pressure, too dry, too humid, too cold, too warm. Again, f-ed, f-ed and f-ed.

16. Residue(s). Of all manner, really. Psychic can be particularly bad. Psycho-acoustic residue can accrete and be notably fatiguing. High-viscosity petrochemical residues are best avoided – definitely do not treat your listening environment with these types of sprays, particularly the flammable kind (i.e., napalm may look like fun in the movies, but it’s really not safe for home use, or anything else). Emotional residue. Be nice.

17. Sound waves. The root of all evil. And the vibrations that cause them (see also, “vibrations, bad” compare “good vibrations”). Enervating.

18. Atmosphere(ics). See also, “weather” and “sound waves.” The ineffable majesty of fluid dynamics aside, no atmosphere, no exhausting noise. At all. Problem licked. (And the tree-falling-in-forest conundrum is pure bonus points, as no one around to hear in any event.)

19. Perceptual lense(s). Subjective-based, epistemological reality is really the pits. And soooo exhausting.

20. Parallel universes. And no, not higher order dimensions, those sound divine. Parallel four-space, alternate space-time continuums. You do not want these rubbing up against your listening environment, the possibility they may be infinite and effectively omnipresent notwithstanding. I’m sure there’s a spray for that (but see, “residues).

21. Magnets. And magnetic fields. Even the one’s that make your speakers go. And the ones created by No. 13, above. But mostly the earth’s magnetic field, totally fatiguing. And: magnets, how do they work, anyway?

22. Plants. If you have to ask, you’ll never get understand. But trust me. Plants.

23. Water. Things sound crap under water, yet we’re mostly made out of water. Think about it.
B -- rock on with the Chris Whitley. Solid. Living With The Law and Dirt
Floor are my favorites. Different, but brilliant, each. And do check out his
daughter, Trixie Whitley (yes, for real). She did a you-tube video of rather
go blind with Brian Blade and Daniel Lanois that is one of the best things
ever. No BS, one of the best things, ever. And that band, Black Dub,
dropped a studio album last year (or the year before, damnitt if i can
keep track anymore), that though radically over-produced, has
moments of brilliance. Check it out, you won't regret it.
B, nice. I've got a serious thing for lady singers (I know, not the preferred
nomenclature). Trying to think who can hold a candle to Trixie. Tanya
Donnelly, pre-Belly, the track Not Too Soon from Throwing Muses, with her
her screeching like a cat, is near-orgasmic. Early Heather Nova, especially
the live stuff, before she went all silly, is pretty fine. Jess King, her first
album, has one track on it that is devine (I Believe in Angles) -- thought I
fear you won't be able to find it anywhere. Had a real soft spot for Fiona
Apple's first album, before she went right the hell off the wheels. More
recently, working on the start of a thing for She Keeps Bees, but it hasn't
really taken hold yet. Sandra O and a couple of tracks from Yea, Yea, Yeas
are top notch. Don't love all of it, but when she's on, she smoulders
something fierce. (Watch the video for Maps off of their first album. I
challenge you not to love it.) Margot Timmons, of course. Not every time,
but when it's on, it's the very definition of an irresistible slow burn. Oh, and
apologies for totally hijacking your thread...;-)